Kenya is considering imposing a higher tax for importers who transport goods by road, instead of using the country's railway servicing the route, from the Mombasa port to Nairobi, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Oct. 12. Parliament recommended increasing the levy by 0.3% for importers who do not use the standard gauge railway and providing an incentive in the form of a lower railway development levy fee rate for importers using it, the report said. The proposal comes as the Kenyan government tries to “drive income” to the railway to pay off its “large” debt on the project. But traders in Kenya continue to prefer roadways, HKTDC said. A government joint technical committee study released in February 2019 showed it costs 133.5% more to transport cargo using the rail system than by road.
The United Kingdom on Oct. 20 updated its guidance for European Union businesses seeking to trade with the U.K. after the Brexit transition period ends at the end of this year. The guidance now includes updated sections on buying and selling goods, value-added taxes, and importing animal and plant products. It also covers copyright laws and other legal matters.
The European Union formally announced a joint proposal for an EU-wide human rights sanctions regime, which would give member states “greater flexibility” to target human rights abuses, the European Commission said Oct. 19. The regime is expected to include asset freezes and travel bans, and give the commission oversight of the implementation of certain bans. Although the regime would include new sanctions, it would “not replace existing geographic sanctions regimes,” the commission said, some of which already target human rights violations in countries like Syria, Venezuela and Belarus.
The Canada government issued the following trade-related notices as of Oct. 21 (some may also be given separate headlines):
CBP will extend its travel restrictions on the northern and southern borders through Nov. 21, it said in a notice released Oct. 21. The travel ban doesn't apply to cargo, and exempts crossing the border to work in the U.S.
India lifted restrictions on exports of certain hand sanitizers, the country’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in an Oct. 15 notice. The move will remove all export restrictions from alcohol-based hand sanitizers “in containers with dispenser pumps.” India had announced the restrictions in June (see 2006010013).
China said the U.S. has been harassing and falsely arresting Chinese students at airports amid more U.S. export control oversight relating to university research. Nearly 300 students “experienced U.S. harassment and interrogation” from May to September, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Oct. 21. “Their cell phones, laptops and other personal belongings were arbitrarily examined and even seized,” the spokesperson said. “We lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side many times, urging it to correct mistakes and stop discriminatory behaviors against Chinese students.”
Tension in relations on technology issues between the U.S. and China over data security, privacy and telecom gear are making life complicated for some American companies, experts told the Technology Policy Institute Aspen Forum. They generally agreed that aspects of the current U.S. approach may be unique to this administration and may have shortcomings. Neither the White House nor China's embassy in Washington commented Oct. 21, when the TPI video was released as part of its ongoing conference.
Like-minded democracies should establish a global technology alliance to safeguard sensitive technologies and improve export restrictions, technology and trade experts said. The alliance -- which would initially include Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the U.S. -- should act to increase export controls on critical technologies and work to counter China’s illegal technology transfers and operations at international standards-setting bodies.
One of the two finalists for the director-general position at the World Trade Organization said Oct. 20 that when trade ministers gather for the next ministerial -- which may happen in June next year -- they should agree on a process for reforming the dispute settlement system. That suggests there will be no binding dispute resolution for at least two years at the WTO, if not longer.